Blue Sky Living

How I Survived 2009

Year 2009 has been full of challenges for many, myself not excluded.  A friend recently said that none of us have escaped this recession--but it has been possible to survive it.  Those words caused me to pause and think about how I managed to survive and come out perhaps scathed, but not completely jaded.  Here are some principles that helped:

Trust Your Intuition

I was in an engaging conversation this week with a colleague.  My rabbi friend and I were discussing the process of spiritually maturing and learning to trust the voice of God within us, that more often than not speaks through our inner voice. 

 

She was saying that undeveloped spirituality questions that voice and causes us to self-sabotage.  We trust  self-doubt instead of living in a positive confidence about our future.  In the process, we end up losing our true sense of self.

Today I Am Grateful

Today I spoke with someone who is so infirmed he can hardly speak.

I am grateful for clear communication.

Today I spoke with someone who just came out of surgery.

I am grateful for health.

Today I spoke with someone who has few physical possessions.

I am grateful for provision.

Today I spoke with someone in the throes of addiction.

I am grateful for sobriety.

Today I spoke with someone who has chronic illness and is at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I am grateful for hope.

Today I spoke with someone who has lost mobility due to a stroke and is on her way to therapy.

I am grateful for the will to live.

Today I am grateful for friends and family, the ones here on earth and the ones now in heaven, but whose earthly presence still lives on.

Today I am grateful.

The Grenade Down the Center Aisle

I don't always set out to provoke.  Honestly, I really don't.  Sometimes it just happens, and I promise, there's no malicious intent involved.

I recently stated in a public, church setting that I struggle with the idea of a 'Personal God.'  I got an email the next day that I might as well have thrown a grenade down the center aisle. The e-mailer was probably right.  You would have needed a host of angelic medevacs to cut through the theological tension in the room.

Now, I know that my existential struggle may sound ridiculous as I work with people on a daily basis on discovering the God of their understanding.  I help people discover their spirituality. That's what I do for a living.  How could Mr. Spiritual be so completely unspiritual?  And in church no less!

But I just don't understand God.

I Am Human

The tragedy of 9/11 reminds me that I am New Yorker, Washingtonian, and Pennsylvanian. 

It reminds me I am American, British, Saudi, Israeli, Palestinian, Iraqi, and Iranian.

It tells me I am black, white, latino, Asian and all combinations of the above.

It speaks to me that I am Jewish, Christian, Muslim, non-religious, spiritual, agnostic, and atheist.

Between Now and Not Yet

Life is what happens between now and not yet.  At least that's what my Irish friend says.  And God knows if the Irish say it's true, then it's got to be true.  After all, they gave the Western World a Judeo-Christian God and Guinness.  They must know something about life.

Said Irish friend contends that that is where all of humanity is living right now.  Between now and not  yet.  We're in some hinge time in the history of the human race, and we've not crossed over the threshold quite yet.  But we're there now.  But not yet.

Laughing With

While only mildly familiar with Regina Spektor, a friend shared this song with me. Laughing with or at, it speaks. Enjoy. (As for me, I'm off to download more of her music.)